The proposed research will attempt to advance knowledge of the etiology of alcoholism by studying a potential mediator of risk for alcoholism, stress-response-dampening (SRD) effects, and relating this to a known factor, family history of alcoholism, and a suspected risk factor, low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. In two studies, high- and low-risk subjects will be asked to consume and alcoholic beverage or a placebo and then have their physiological and affective responses to a stressor measured. In the first study, risk will be predicated on platelet MAO activity, and in the second study risk will be predicated on family history of alcoholism. Stress responsiveness will be examined as a joint function of beverage and risk status. It is hypothesized that potentially reinforcing SRD effects are more pronounced in high-risk subjects, and that SRD effects might be a mediational link between these risk factors and the development of alcoholism. Data from experimental subjects will be archived so that prospective follow-up of study participants can determine the true etiological relevance of SRD effects and their relationship to other risk factors. If vulnerability to SRD effects from alcohol consumption were found to predict alcohol problems, this would have important implications for both the specification of target populations for prevention programs as well as the content of those programs. Preventive interventions could be more effective if targeted at vulnerable individuals. Specific content of these interventions might include educating the individual about his vulnerability and instruction in alternative stress-reducing strategies.
